City staff are to go though the capital budget to try to find more than $24 million worth of projects over four years that can be shelved to free up money for housing and roads.

City council voted 10-3 Tuesday night to direct staff to review the capital projects and find those that can wait.

King’s Town District Coun. Rob Hutchison floated the idea during last month’s budget deliberations.He was convinced then that it was an idea to discuss at a later time.

That time was Tuesday.

While nearly everybody around the council table — councillors and staff — agreed with the intent of the motion, it took more than an hour for councillors to agree on how to make it happen.

At the root of some councillors’ concern was the fact that council is still to go through its strategic planning process in late March and mid-April. Some considered the motion as instructions to staff to prioritize capital projects before council has decided what the city’s priorities will be.

Staff are to report back to council in time for the information to be considered prior to the April 17 strategic planning session.

Hutchison argued that the information would be useful to councillors in their planning.

“This is prepatory for strategic planning,” Hutchison said. “It’s important to know whether you’ve got the capital debt space, the money, to do anything about the things you think are priorities.

“It should be something that helps frame your consideration of what we are going to do in strategic planning,” he added.

Hutchison’s motion proposed that city staff find about $18 million — enough money to build 90 units — which would be split equally on the construction of affordable housing, market housing and low rent housing.

He is also calling for a doubling of the budget for roads and sidewalks from about $3 million to $6 million.

It is generally agreed that housing and roads and sidewalks will be among the strategic priorities council adopts in the spring, but Mayor Bryan Paterson said it was the motion’s method, not its intent, that he struggled with.

“We haven’t specified what are not priorities,” he said. “I’m not comfortable with staff making those decisions at this point.”

When asked, acting chief administrative officer Lanie Hurdle said the motion may be premature as it might pre-empt council’s strategic planning process.

“I do understand the intent, but somehow I have to say that I feel council is setting priorities outside of the strategic council priority-setting session through this motion,” Hurdle said.

With housing and roads likely to be priorities, Hurdle said those would be among the projects that would not be considered for deferral.

Hurdle also recommended not deferring any asset management work as it would likely cost the city more money in the long run.

Also capital projects related to climate change — also a strong contender to be a strategic priority — would remain.

The majority of what is left would be in the recreation and leisure areas, including active transportation projects and possibly the Kingston East Recreation Centre.

The potential of having the east recreation centre delayed prompted Pittsburgh District Coun. Ryan Boehme to call the motion “unfair” because it is going outside the process and asking staff to make the “hard decisions.”

He also just didn’t like the idea of losing the recreation centre, construction of which is set to start in the spring.

“There isn’t a city-owned building in the east end, and the east end community centre is a huge deal to everybody over there to feel connected to the city,” Boehme said.

“That would get you, sure, $10 million but at what cost,” he asked. “We’re kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul with this.”

Hutchison reminded his colleagues that the list of potential deferrals is to come to council before its strategic planning process is complete, and the list doesn’t mean the projects will be delayed.

“This just asks for information. Council isn’t committing to anything,” Hutchison said. “When we get the information, we’ll have to start thinking again.”